How to design your life using the Your Whole Life approach

You've probably heard (countless times) that life consists of work and life. But if we buy into that, we miss out on living life fully. And seriously, who wants to miss out on that!!!

This is your life to live well, so I want to make sure you've got the Your Whole Life approach, which includes 8 life elements, in your toolkit. Because when it comes to consciously designing your life, it's important to know what "life" is made up of (and it's most definitely more than work and life!).

Your life blend

So I mentioned that there are 8 life elements. They exist in each of our lives but the 'space' they take up will vary from person to person.

Which makes sense, right, because we have different life visions and values, different dreams, and goals, and we're at different phases and stages of life.

There's no one-size-fits-all blend that you can pluck out of a textbook. And if someone tries telling you there is, I'd be dubious because there's no way it will take into account what's important to you, where you're at and the sort of life you want to be living.

Okay, so here are those 8 elements:

  • Contribution

  • Environment

  • Financial

  • Growth

  • Health

  • Interests/hobbies

  • Relationships

  • Work/business

It’s useful, at any time, to consider where you’re at with each of the 8 elements and especially when you know it’s time for change in your life.

But all too often people, when people decide they want to create change, they jump in and start doing stuff (and lots of it!). Or some will hold back, waiting for the right time.

Unfortunately, neither approach tends to work out well.

When it comes to creating change, knowing where you are now is a key step.

Know where you are

Imagine you're in a town that you've not been to before and there's an art gallery you'd like to visit. You remember that a friend used to live in the town so you phone them and ask for directions to the gallery.

What's the first thing they'll ask you?

"Where are you now?"

And that makes sense, right? Because without knowing where you are, your friend won't be able to give you helpful directions.

It's the same when it comes to creating change in your life — you need to know where you are now before taking action. Otherwise, you could find yourself putting in a whole lot of effort to go nowhere in particular!

Now it’s your turn.

Before carrying on, grab your journal or a book and allow at least 30 mins to review each of the 8 life elements. Think about what’s going well and not going well, so you can get greater clarity about where you're at.

Decide where you’re heading

Some people will be able to confidently say where they’re heading. But if you're thinking you don't even know what today is all about, let alone where you're heading in the future, you're not alone.

A lot of people are stuck in a kind of survival mode, doing their best to get through whatever shows up each day.

But that doesn't feel good, right?

Stretched and thinly spread trying to do everything that comes along and feeling like you're not doing anything well, just creates a whole pile of stress. Argh!

And you might be thinking that things will never change because that's just how life is, but I bet there's also a niggly thought in the back of your mind that there MUST be something you can do. And the goods news ... there is!

You can create positive change in your life

Think about when you're out and about in town... when you know where you are and where you want to head, you know which direction to head and what streets and roads to take, right?

Because you know those two points, you're able to navigate your way to where you want to be.

And it's like that in life.

When you know where you're at and where you want to head, you're able to figure out the next best steps so you can keep moving towards your destination. (I'll talk about that more in next week's email, but for now, let's stick with where you're heading)

Choose your destination

When choosing your destination, start with a timeframe. Now, some people will want to think out 10 years, 5 years, 2 years, maybe the end of 2021, or just the next few days. While some coaches will say there are specific timeframes you should use, I say it depends on you and what's going on for you now.

Try out the timeframes for yourself and see what feels doable (that's a mix of it being comfortable but with a bit of stretch). Say the timeframe out loud and notice how you react to it. For example, if you say "1 year" and your immediate response is, I'm barely making it through each day, try a month or even a week.

Seriously, there's no right or wrong, good or bad with this, and no need to judge whatever you choose. The key is to START with something! And the more you practice thinking out into the future, the more you build your 'mind' muscle for this type of work and the more comfortable you'll become with it.

Now, grab your journal or a book and allow at least 30 mins to think about that point in the future and describe the destination in as much detail as you can. You might like to use the 8 life elements to guide you with this work.